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Little Jack.

"Nothing but love"

A dog exists purely
to love; it is the overriding factor which defines their nature. Should they
ever lose this opportunity to give love to another, they find themselves feeling worthless, helpless, and deeply miserable; waiting for another opportunity to arise. In this respect, a dog is no different from a
human being; always needing a speck of acknowledgement, that their
love makes a positive difference to the world.

Walking through a
busy outdoor shopping area with my girlfriend this past weekend, we stumbled across
a transit van, extended to a long stretch of metal cages. Inside sat a small collection
of abandoned breeds of dog; each one as lovable as they were lonely. The cause was a petition to raise awareness of the intense
suffering these poor souls experience; an unfortunate reality for the unlucky
few, taken in by those who clearly forgot these animals are driven by their feelings - or refused to care.

Of the collection, a dishevelled yet beautiful golden Jack Russell, stood out amongst the crowd.
While the other breeds seemed happy to enjoy the odd nom and stroke from passers by, little Jack just sat there, barely mobile; his lowered head hanging on his tired paw, and
his eyes carrying the saddest look of pure dejection I have seen in anybody -
animal or human. He conveyed an essence of a soul who had given all the love and affection he was able to muster, and was rewarded
with the rejection of being dumped, for doing so; even us humans can understand the crushing feeling
that evokes.

A dog asks for little from their human best friend, yet gives everything back
in return. They will allow themselves to be abused, ignored, neglected, and
kept in awful conditions; purely for the opportunity to give love. Dogs see only the good in humanity, and are forever the eternal, loyal optimist; even if the
Queen offered a homeless canine a prime spot beside the Dorgis in Buckingham Palace, they
would still remain true to the unconditional love of the buddy they live with.As humans, evolution of concious thought and civilisation has rendered love a complex,
confusing, and sometimes ridiculous notion; making it feel almost impossible to
simply give love without compromise. Dogs do not concern themselves with conditions
– whether internal or physical, or where they sit on the food chain of life. They simply wake up each day and say to their family "I love you, and I hope you
will choose to love me back, make me happy, not punish me anytime I get a little overexcited, and most importantly - never abandon me!" It is always a trememdous
risk to give our heart to another. But without these risks, life is a
long, boring line of empty feelings and bland ideas. Nobody wants to experience
the dark and painful feelings of rejection which burn so fierce, but sometimes
we need to risk everything; a lesson we can learn from these humble creatures .As far as the Jack Russell with the sad eyes is concerned,
providing he is offered a second chance at love and a brand new forever home,
he will yet again give his new family all the love and compassion he can pull from within. And unlike us human beings - who struggle with forgiveness, he will shed all memories of the past, and only
see the future; free of cynicism and fear. If the courage to give pure love with every ounce of our hearts is a form of
magic, then dogs, are undeniably magical. I later discovered the fate of our lovely little friend...

I hope you don't mind me sharing this story. We have 2 Jack Russells and they are our lives. Our whole life revolves around them. That is how it's suppose to be. Thanks for your beautiful story. God Bless....Ginny

I have three rescued Jack Russells. One was abused, one thrown out in the country and abandoned and the third was (probably) a breeder dog. It takes them about a year to recover and begin to trust again. That sounds like a long time, but when they come to you of their own free will and begin to love life, it is worth every moment, every growl, and every turned back you experience. They suddenly just decide somehow that you're worth their trust even though they had their hearts broken once. Then suddenly you have a happy little shadow following you through life that will literally give their all to you. It takes some time, but by God, its worth it.

I just got a dog yesterday in our rescue, named Jack. Looks identical. He is heartbroken too. Shakes, cries when I leave the room, I am his foster home. Such a loving breed. I will never understand people who do this to animals. NEVER! And just am sick of people saying I wish I could help, I hope he gets a home, If I didn't have my dog etc. Excuses... I am an ordinary person. So is everyone else. Don't expect rescues to do it all. They can't! Help! Foster, Adopt! Spay and Neuter! in any way you can. Donate....not to the big county ran shelters who have funds to work with. To the private rescues who run on nothing, have nothing and keep going. That is who needs it most!

Hi there. There is a follow up to this article, which explains what happened to Little Jack. He has a very happy outcome. Check it out, and be proud of yourself for being a foster parent to a guy who sounds adorable.